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Loss of ($11.24) today, just like yesterday. I misread a chart pattern. I felt uneasy today, just like yesterday. I was trying to figure out why I seemed to be regressing into habits that had been getting better up until the last couple of days. I realized there were two things I've been doing differently between now and last week.
1.) Change in diet. I went from ultra-low-carb, and almost nonexistent gluten intake, to a pretty hard opposite. Lots of sugar. My thinking has been foggier, and my emotions have been a little weirder. I'm probably gonna' revert to low carb, although I'll experiment with eating veggies that have higher carb counts and see if I feel any different eating those kinds of carbs vs other kinds.
2.) I had unintentionally changed the way that I mark up charts when I read them. That was due to Quantower running slowly, and my thinking that it was because I had too many drawing tools on my charts. What ended up being the problem, was that the software slowed down when I used two screens. My current method technically allows me to use one screen, so I've been doing that, and Quantower has been running all right. Feels good to simplify things too.
Midway through this morning's trading sesh, I reverted to how I was originally marking up charts, and almost instantaneously my emotional discomfort kind of vanished. The FOMO, the uncertainty, the anxiety, the worry, just kind of stopped. Could just be a coincidence, and I'm looking forward to seeing how tomorrow goes. It would be neat if the subconscious (unconscious?) part of my brain had picked up that I was doing something wrong and then tried to communicate that to the conscious part of my brain through emotional discord. I don't know if brains work like that or not though.
Still reading the Tao Te Ching. It's incredible. There's a lot that I didn't understand when I was younger, and there's still plenty that I don't. From what I think I understand, there's a lot that I resonate with, both for life and for trading. Looking forward to this chapter of my life.
Can you help answer these questions from other members on NexusFi?
The highest good is like water.
Water gives life to the ten thousand things and does not strive.
It flows in places men reject and so is like the Tao.
In dwelling, be close to the land.
In meditation, go deep in the heart.
In dealing with others, be gentle and kind.
In speech, be true.
In ruling, be just.
In business, be competent.
In action, watch the timing.
No fight: No blame.
-Laozi, Tao Te Ching
A New Translation by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English*
Practice non-action.
Work without doing.
Taste the tasteless.
Magnify the small, increase the few.
Reward bitterness with care.
See simplicity in the complicated.
Achieve greatness in little things.
In the universe the difficult things are done as if they are easy.
In the universe great acts are made up of small deeds.
The sage does not attempt anything very big,
And thus achieves greatness.
Easy promises make for little trust.
Taking things lightly results in great difficulty.
Because the sage always confronts difficulties,
He never experiences them.
No trades today. Was looking for a short entry at one point, but the initial risk was too much. I waited for a potential retest, but I wasn't confident that I'd be able to execute quickly enough to avoid slippage outside of my max allowed risk. Thought about placing a limit order, but I don't have any experience with placing orders on the chart like that, so decided against it. The floor fell out shortly thereafter, and the opportunity was missed. A bummer for sure, but these situations will happen.
I'm recording my trades more precisely than I have in the past in my other journal. Taking time to review the winners and the losers, and then compare them. What's different? What's the same? What did I miss? Enjoying the process.
Something that I'll be working on will be determining when to pass on a trade vs when to execute. If it isn't obvious, and/or if I feel confusion about the setup, I want to pass on it. I feel like this will be a dance with FOMO. Not the ideal partner, but you work with what you have. I need to be comfortable with the fear. It will be there, and I will be okay. As long as there are markets, there will continue to be opportunities.
A good soldier is not violent.
A good fighter is not angry.
A good winner is not vengeful.
A good employer is humble.
This is known as the Virtue of not striving.
This is known as the ability to deal with people.
This since ancient times has been known
as the ultimate unity with heaven.
What a frustrating fucking morning. Sorry for the language. Getting a fire started (woodstove) early in the morning with damp wood is a consistently frustrating process. Of course, if I'd prepared better by working on our wood supply earlier in the year, or last year even, then the dampness wouldn't be a problem.
Trading was a mixed bag this morning. I took one trade, as seems to be becoming my usual. I did okay with waiting for a clear signal. I was trying to watch the market in case something happened, instead of looking for something to happen.
I made money (SIM still), and the risk-to-reward (R:R) was good. Between 1:7 and 1:8. However! That was ENTIRELY due to chance! No skill involved at all. In my suboptimal state, I forgot to adjust my charts correctly, and held onto a trade that very easily could have scorched my eyebrows off. The loss wouldn't have been account ending or anything like that, but it would have been totally avoidable. It bugs me. It was a crap trade, and I still made money. Can't say I'm a fan of those situations. I know I can do better.
Thirty spokes share the wheel's hub;
It is the center hole that makes it useful.
Shape clay into a vessel;
It is the space within that makes it useful.
Cut doors and windows for a room;
It is the holes which make it useful.
Therefore profit comes from what is there;
Usefulness from what is not there.
No trades today. A potential setup formed, but it just seemed off, so I skipped it. It failed, so I'm glad I didn't participate. It's been much easier to keep my perspective positive today, instead of getting emotionally weighed down and creating a self-directed downward spiral. My focus has also been much clearer. Slowly learning how to be a functional human.
I'll be taking the next three days off from trading since it's rollover time. I usually forget about rollover, and then get confused when my charts get wonky, and the price action seems weird. I was a little more on top of it this time, so good job self. In the future, I may have a 4–5-day buffer instead of three. Not sure yet.
Moving forward I want to start recording the time when I enter a trade. It will be interesting to see if there's a common thread, as far as when the setups are taking place.
